Nineteen killed as fresh sanctions hit Syria

Nov 30, 2011, 19:10 GMT

Beirut/Cairo - Nineteen people were killed Wednesday across Syria, while Arab and regional pressure intensified on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to halt his eight-month crackdown on opposition protests.

Seven soldiers and 12 civilians, among them a woman and child, were killed in the fresh violence that engulfed areas in the provinces of Daal and Idlib.

'Two security force vehicles were blown up. Seven (troops) were killed,' said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. He added that 19 people were wounded, four critically.

The United Nations says at least 3,500 people have been killed in the unrest to date.

The fresh violence coincided with an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in the Saudi port city of Jeddah to find ways to end the bloodshed in Syria. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem attended

Piling the pressure on the Syrian regime, Turkey, the country's biggest trade partner, became Wednesday the latest country to slap sanctions on Syria, by suspending all financial credit dealings with its neighbour and freezing the Syrian government's assets.

'Until a legitimate government, which is at peace with its people, is in charge in Syria, the mechanism of the High Level of Strategic Cooperation has been suspended,' Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a press conference in Ankara.

He added that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had come 'to the end of the road.'

The United States welcomed the additional sanctions, and said they would increase pressure on the Syrian regime.

'The leadership shown by Turkey in response to the brutality and violation of the fundamental rights of the Syrian people will isolate the Assad regime and send a strong message to Assad and his circle that their actions are unacceptable and will not be tolerated,' said White House National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor.

In Brussels, diplomats said the European Union was poised to also hit Syria with massive sanctions, targeting everything from computer software and insurance to the banking and energy sectors.

The state Syrian News Agency SANA said that funerals were held Wednesday for 14 soldiers and policemen killed by 'terrorist groups' while on duty.

The Syrian authorities have repeatedly blamed the unrest in the country on 'armed terrorists group,' allegedly financed by foreign countries.

SANA added that the Syrian authorities had released on Wednesday some 912 prisoners who had been detained during the eight-month crackdown in the country.

The violence in Syria Wednesday was the focus of the OIC, which expressed in its final statement frustration at the unending bloodshed and called on the Syrian authorities 'to stop immediately the bloodbath and to respect human rights and start constructive dialogue with the opposition.'

The organization's head, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, urged Syria to 'deal positively' with the Arab League decisions and sign a protocol to end the violence as well as to allow international and Islamic humanitarian organizations into the country.

He reiterated the organization's rejection of any foreign interference in the Syrian crisis and called on the Syrian government to release all political detainees.

Meanwhile, Qatar's state-owned airline, Qatar Airways, said it was stopping its flights to and from Syria starting Wednesday as part of a package of sanctions imposed by the Arab League on Damascus.

The airline added that the suspension would be in effect until November 28, 2012.

On Sunday, the Arab League slapped sweeping economic sanctions - including halting trade links - on the Syrian government for failing to endorse a plan to allow Arab monitors into the country, a move some say might convince the government to stop its crackdown.